LOCADIA SET FOR SEAGULLS DEBUT

13 February 2018

Paul Hazelwood Jurgen Locadia during the warm-up at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday.

Alex Stedman

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton has hinted that club-record signing Jurgen Locadia could be in-line to make his debut for the Seagulls in Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup tie at home to Coventry City.

The January arrival from PSV Eindhoven was in the matchday squad for the first time at the weekend for the visit to the bet365 Stadium to face Stoke City – and the Albion boss suggested that the frontman could to make his first appearance for the club this weekend.

He said' "At this moment the FA Cup, would be my thinking [Locadia making his debut].

"He has been out for about six weeks but he has trained since last Thursday and I’d say he’s certainly done enough to be on the bench.

“But we also have Glenn [Murray] at the moment who is in good form and it's good to have those options.”

The game against the Sky Blues in the last 16 of the tournament this weekend at the Amex Stadium represents a break from Premier League action – and the boss insisted that having an interest in another competition was not a distraction for his side.

He instead highlighted the competitive nature of the squad and the opportunities for game-time that it provides – emphasising that those traits would be crucial to the side’s fortunes between now and the end of the campaign.

"It's not a distraction and we're delighted to be in the Cup. We've got a very competitive squad at the moment.

“Our bench is probably as strong as it's been and it's a really good opportunity to use the squad.

"It's a competition we definitely want to go through in.

"We will need that competitiveness right the way through to the end of the season."